Make It Work
by pizzagirl
Summary: Bruce, Darcy and Steve thought that one designer sort of looked familiar, but leave it to Tony to jokingly suggest to Thor that maybe Loki, in some sort of disguise, was on Project Runway. Not only that, but the more Thor watches, the more he and the others think Tony may be on to something.


"So they have to use _candy_ to make clothes?" Tony chuckled, hearing the disbelief rising in Steve's voice from the other room.

"Well, they get muslin as a base," Darcy replied. "So it's not completely candy." He heard her take a bite of something. "Licorice?"

"But what's the point -," Steve began, but was cut off.

"Reality television doesn't have much of a point, Steve. Most of it is just mindless drivel, but this particular show is a competition, so at least the people have a talent for making clothing. And the winner gets some money and a bunch of other stuff to potentially start his or her own clothing line," another voice answered.

Tony's head perked up at this voice, and he strode into the living room, pretending to scowl at the person who had just answered. "Oh no, not you, too, Bruce."

Bruce, sitting on the couch, shrugged somewhat sheepishly, popping a handful of some type of candy in his mouth. "What can I say? I think I'm allowed a guilty pleasure once in a while." He smiled at Tony's expression.

Darcy patted Bruce's arm before turning her attention to Steve, who was sitting in the big arm chair next to the couch. "And the point of this challenge isn't exactly to make something someone would wear out. It's their 'unconventional' challenge – they're trying to see what the designers can do when something unexpected is thrown their way. I mean, as awesome as it would be to buy a dress out of candy, can you imagine what a shit show it'd be to actually wear it? I mean, without it like falling apart, either because it wasn't sewn properly or because I'd start eating it."

"Or someone else would try to eat it," Steve said with a sly smile. Darcy grabbed his hand, grinning, and then noticed a flush on his face, as she remembered that not only was Bruce in the room with them, but now Tony had joined them.

Bruce cleared his throat, and both Steve and Darcy gave thankful looks his way. "You know," he began, "this Dmitry guy looks familiar. But I'm not sure why."

"I agree, Dr. Banner," Steve said. Darcy quirked her eyebrows, and studied the television closer.

Tony had sat down on the couch next to Bruce now, pulling out his phone and typing away on the screen. "He's supposedly a former professional ballroom dancer from Belarus. Went to Parsons to get his degree in design. Blah blah blah fashion. Now on this show." Tony looked up at the rest of them staring at him. "What? We live in an era of technology making this information available like that," he paused to snap for dramatic effect, "so, I just looked up what you were all wondering. But now that you mention it, he does look like -."

Loud footsteps alerted them of their next visitor. "My friends!" Thor greeted them, a large smile upon his face, one of his hands entwined with Jane, who stood bashfully to his side. He noticed them all looking at the television, so he followed their stares. Feeling anger rising inside of him, he asked, "Why is my brother on your screen of entertainment?"

Jane shot a look at Darcy, who just shrugged. "I have no clue. Dr. B and I were just enjoying some quality Tim Gunn time, trying to catch Steve up on some modern Michael Kors-isms."

Steve furrowed his brows. "Michael Kors?"

"Oh he's the best! We missed the first judging, but the things he says about the designs-." This time it was Thor who gave her a look. She sighed and gave Steve an apologetic look. "You'll see." She squeezed his hand.

Thor shifted his gaze to Tony. "Look Point Break. I just came into the room. This show really isn't my thing, and to be honest, I'm surprised it's Bruce's. But really, is that guy Loki? I see the resemblance, but isn't your brother a bit sharper of a dresser and more put together with the hair? And he's missing the whole horns get-up." Thor turned to look at the television again. "Plus, I thought you said Daddy Dearest had him locked away somewhere and threw away the key. So it couldn't be him."

"I suppose that is true," Thor conceded. It seemed as if everyone in the room let out the breath they had been holding, as the tension lessened.

Then Tony smirked. "Unless he got out and him being on this show is some new form of punishment from Odin."

Thor let out some sort of roar as Jane tried to calm him down. Steve jumped up in case Thor tried to attack anyone, which given the situation, wouldn't surprise anyone, and if it should happen to be Tony, Steve really wasn't sure if he would stop Thor. Darcy tried to position herself near both Steve and Thor, but kept a wary eye on Bruce, as she was sure all this stress wasn't good for him. All he'd wanted to do was watch this marathon.

Instead, Bruce was still sitting on the couch, his head in hands, both of his elbows on his knees, his shoulders shaking. Darcy stepped forward slowly. "Dr. B? You okay?" she asked tentatively. He raised his head slowly, and she could see that he wasn't freaking out – there was no green in his eyes. Rather there were tears of laughter in them. He had a huge grin on his face as he continued to laugh. Everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing to stare. This was not something they were expecting.

"Oh my god, are you guys serious?" Bruce managed to get out between laughs. He was clutching his stomach now, which ached from laughing so much. He couldn't remember the last time something had caught him as this funny. "There is no way that guy is Loki, Thor. Tony is just trying to mess with you because the guy sort of looks like him."

Thor raised an eyebrow and looked at the television again. "Well, while it may have been in jest, I would not put it past my father to come up with something like this as a way to punish my brother. This Dmitry does bear a resemblance to my brother, but upon further study, it is only that, a resemblance. Whatever magic is at work, it is good enough to conceal him just enough so that those who are not familiar with him would not recognize him."

"You can't be serious," Steve stated.

"Indeed, Captain, I am," Thor answered seriously.

After a few moments of silence, Darcy heard the music that signaled judging was about to begin. "Thor, big guy, I love you, but you're a better door than a window. If that's really your bro there, let's see what sort of trouble he can get himself into, huh? Or maybe, what sort of punishment your dad intends to dole out or something."

Thor sighed and went to sit in the other large chair that was positioned at the other end of the couch. He swept Jane into his lap, and the six of them watched the critiques. When Heidi Klum announced which designers were safe, Dmitry was part of the group whose scores let them move on to the next round. He appeared to be shocked at not being in the top three.

"Humility," Bruce said quietly. "That's what he has to learn." He paused. "I mean, if we're going with this crazy theory."

Darcy, who now was sitting next to Steve in the other large chair, nodded. "As someone who has seen a good portion of this season's episodes, and without spoiling them, I think you're on to something, Dr. B." The next episode began.

"This has already occurred?" Thor asked, concern in his voice.

"Remember how we talked about most things on TV being already recorded and not live?" Jane began. He nodded. "This is one of those."

"So my brother is out there, perhaps already causing havoc or mischief?"

"If he was, we'd know," Tony assured him. "And who knows, maybe your Daddio's tough love got through to him? How many more episodes do we have left?"

Bruce turned to Darcy, as she was the only one who kept up with the show on a regular basis. He usually only caught marathons. "We're on the third episode, and the finale airs this week. So that means we've got 9 more episodes to go." There were lots of groans. "C'mon guys, we can do this!"

Tony reached for his phone again. "And since I was the one who _kind_ _of_ started this whole loco-for-Loki thing, I'll even spring for food and booze." Steve looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Okay, kind of is an understatement, Cap. I think someone is a bad influence on you." He smirked at Darcy, who smiled at him politely while giving him the finger.

They continued to watch the marathon. A disgruntled Natasha and Clint joined them a couple of episodes later, each carrying a few boxes of pizza. Tony clapped his hands excitedly at this, as if some plan of his had come to fruition, which it probably had. Both assassins, after arguing that Dmitry didn't look enough like Loki to warrant continuing watching the marathon, relented and ended up staying to watch. It became almost a game to see when Dmitry, who obviously had talent, would finally win a challenge.

"Are we sure that this Ven guy isn't your brother, Thor?" Clint asked later. They had just watched an episode where the designers had to design for a client's friend, or as Darcy had explained, the "real woman" challenge, where people weren't model-sized.

"My brother may be many things, including the God of Lies and Mischief, but we were raised with better manner s than that 'Ven guy' displayed towards his client. It is unbecoming of a prince of Asgard to treat a woman so poorly." He sat up straighter in his chair as he said this. Jane gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

They continued watching, with Pepper joining them. She slipped in quietly next to Tony, no questions asked. Darcy smiled at this, figuring he must've been texting her the whole time about this. Finally, in a challenge where the designers had to come up with their own print for a textile to use in their look, Dmitry won. The group cheered at this, which was followed by a somewhat uncomfortable silence. Did they really want to be cheering on someone who had been hell bent on destroying their world only a few months prior?

"That jacket is stunning," Natasha commented, breaking the silence.

Pepper nodded. "The illusion that the panels are floating is so elegant. I would buy that jacket in a heartbeat." She felt Tony stiffen slightly at those words, and the eyes of his teammates focus on her. "Well, I would," she said defensively.

"I would, too," Natasha agreed. Clint glared at her, and she smacked his arm.

"Look, if this truly is Loki, and he can do this kind of craftsmanship without his magic, color me impressed," Bruce said with a shrug. "I mean, it took him _nine_ episodes to get a win. If this is Odin's way for him to learn some lesson in humility, I'd say getting so close to winning without actually winning all those times before this and him _not_ blowing anything up is a good thing. So when we were happy for this win earlier? I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"Aye, he has shown patience and skill. Qualities I have seen before, when we were young, but that I have not seen in a long time. If you do not wish to find happiness in this win, then do not; but he is my brother and I cannot give up on him." Thor's normally booming voice was quiet as he said this, and he had a faraway look in his eyes.

They watched the next episode mostly in silence, not solely because of the topic of prior conversation, but also because it was getting late. There were only a few episodes left in the marathon, and just went it seemed like everyone was ready to head to bed, the gem about Dmitry's past as a professional ballroom dancer came to light.

Clint's eyes were huge as he turned to look at Thor. "How much of that statement is true?"

Thor ran his hand over his face. "Well, it is true that my brother and I both are knowledgeable in dancing, as is expected of Asgardian princes, I do not know if it is considered to be of a level of that of a professional."

Clint merely nodded, knowing he could use that information at some point in the future for blackmail. He decided not to press the issue further. That didn't stop Darcy, though.

"So when Dancing with the Stars calls?" An almost-evil grin was spreading across her face.

Jane sighed exasperatedly. "Darcy, just no."

Dmitry didn't end up winning that challenge, much to everyone's unexpected disappointment. When the next episode began and everyone could see that toddlers would be involved, Tony laughed. Pepper pinched him.

"Hey, Pep, what was that for! This episode could either be really awesome or really horrifying. Even if everyone was normal." She rolled her eyes.

Almost as if on cue, Dmitry was on the screen, doing a solo 'talking head' interview. "_Those babies are like really small. I don't even know how old they are, but I'm pretty sure they can't talk. It's like you're making an outfit for a cat. Literally._"

This caused Tony to burst out laughing again. Pepper smacked him this time, which only served to make him laugh harder. "Thor, remind me if I ever happen to see your brother again, that I owe him a drink for that. That was fantastic." Thor stared at Tony curiously, but simply nodded.

The rest of the episode passed with lots of laughter following the introduction of the 'real' baby dolls to the designers. Jane quickly explained to Thor what they were, who seemed to be amused by the whole concept of designing an outfit for a toddler. Natasha commented that even though Dmitry's outfit didn't win, she thought it was rather cute, even if Clint agreed with the judges that it looked like a crayon. Darcy said she still stood by Edna Mode's no cape policy, explaining to Steve that they needed to have another Pixar weekend soon.

Finally they were on the last episode – the one that would determine who would show at fashion week. The challenge was to create an avant garde look to match a makeup collection from the sponsoring makeup company. The designers were given their time deadline and budget and were told to go sketch.

"How many show their collections?" Steve asked.

"Typically it's three. They have decoy collections based upon how many episodes have shown by the time fashion week happens in real time. I'm not sure when that was in relation to what episode was airing, but they don't time it as well as they used to," she explained.

Bruce noticed the curious looks. "What she means is, fashion week already happened. But they weren't finished airing the episodes. So people wouldn't figure out who the final designers were, they had to have more designers show collections to keep the audience guessing."

"Yeah, it used to be that they only showed like four designers, but now they've done like up to seven or something stupid. The photos are online, so you can see the collections. People typically can guess who the final ones are." She shrugged.

They turned their attention back to the show. The designers were getting their critiques from Tim Gunn, and Dmitry was trying to decide how to respond to the comments. Soon it was time for the final runway, and Dmitry's look garnered praise from all of the judges. He won the challenge and was given a spot in the finals.

While the judging continued for the remaining designers, Natasha quirked her head. "I fail to see how these looks were really avant garde."

"Thank you!" Darcy exclaimed, almost falling off the chair. Steve's grip around her waist kept her seated. "I get that they have constraints with money and time, but seriously. Nobody upped the crazy like they should've!"

"They were relatively tame looks for the final challenge," Pepper added. "Not that they weren't well-made. This is really a group of good designers. I just wish they would've really gone for broke on this one."

There was a flash of light behind the bar in the far corner of the room that stunned everyone momentarily, as they had been watching in dim lighting.

"As do I, Miss Potts," a familiar voice said. "Alas, time would not allow for such extravagance." The voice was getting closer to them.

Soon they were able to make out who was standing there, which sent everyone scrambling for weapons. Loki put his hands up, well, one of his hands, as the other held a glass with a drink in it. He was looking like his normal self, or at least his features were that of how they'd last seen them when he and Thor had departed for Asgard after defeating the Chitauri. However, his dark hair was shorter now, his face didn't look quite as gaunt and sickly, and he was dressed in dark trousers and a dark green and black tunic and vest. It wasn't quite a normal Earth look, nor was it quite an Asgardian look.

"Brother, what is the meaning of this?" Thor asked, his voice a mixture of anger and concern.

"I mean you all no harm, this I swear," he began. He looked at the drink in his hand and then back at the rest of the group before taking a quick sip of it. "Mr. Stark, I hope you do not mind that I took the liberty of getting myself that drink you had promised me for that cat quip."

Tony raised his eyebrow. "So that was you."

Loki nodded. "It was. As you and Dr. Banner correctly deduced, I had made an attempt at escape upon return to Asgard. Fath-, Odin did not take kindly to that, and instead determined that the lesson and punishment I needed could only be had on Midgard, as it had seemingly worked wonders for my brother. What you all just spent hours watching my punishment."

"Of all the reality shows, he had to pick one I liked. Couldn't have picked something like Dirty Jobs or Fear Factor or something icky and gross for your punishment," Darcy quipped. Steve shot her a look, willing her to shut up, but she just shrugged.

"Had Father picked one of those, the chances of one of us seeing would not have been so great, would they have not?" Thor asked, catching Loki's eye. "And then we would not have had cause to speculate on whether it was indeed my brother on that show, thus ensuring that we were able to see the punishment Father meted out." Loki half-shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips at Thor's statement. Thor took this as the invitation he needed to close the distance between them and encircle his arms around Loki in a crushing hug. "My brother, it is good to see you." He quickly released Loki and then turned to his friends. "You may stand down. If my brother is here, that means that whatever punishment our Father felt was necessary has been completed, and Loki has been redeemed in his eyes and means no harm."

The weapons that had been pulled out were slowly put away, and everyone settled back down somewhat uneasily. Thor and Loki still stood in front of the television, a broad grin on Thor's face, and a hint of a smile across Loki's face. Thor's arm was around Loki's shoulders.

"Miss Potts and Miss Romanoff, if you'd like, I can get both of you those jackets you liked, tailored to your sizes," Loki offered. Both women seemed a bit taken aback by this, but nodded eagerly.

Darcy couldn't help herself. "So, because you're here, does this mean you won, _Dmitry_?"

The small smile faded from Loki's face and was replaced by a smirk as he turned his head towards her. "You know I cannot reveal the winner before the finale. You'll just have to wait and find out like everyone else when the finale airs, Miss Lewis. What fun would it be in spoiling the outcome?"

She thought she saw him wink before turning his attention elsewhere, and she sighed, turning her attention towards Steve. "So this was not how I expected to introduce you to this show."

He laughed. "Not every reality show has a Norse god undercover on it?"

She squinted her eyes, as if in deep thought. "No, but now that you mention it, that would make a great reality show. I'd probably watch it. If nothing else was on." They both laughed.

_This idea came about after watching one too many episodes of this latest season of 'Project Runway' and commenting to __**TrickPhotography**__ that a certain designer looks like a certain Avenger. And my thoughts jumbled on from there. I blame her for being an enabler of my crackalicious thoughts, and hope you enjoyed!_


End file.
